When the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission (OREC) learned the contract with their legacy technology provider was ending, they were faced with the requirement of transitioning their processes to a state-supported software provider in short order. But with reservations around that technology’s capabilities, the organization was determined to find a more sophisticated regulatory software provider that met its requirements. 

At the helm of the state-run agency were Executive Director Grant Cody and Deputy Director Bailey Crotty, who both saw the challenge they were faced with as an opportunity to completely modernize and automate OREC’s manual and antiquated processes for issuing and renewing licenses. Determined to find a vendor able to meet their list of needs and aggressive implementation timeline, OREC saw an immediate fit when they met the team at Thentia. 

The scope of the project was substantial for the organization, given its history and magnitude. Founded in 1949 and serving as the sole government entity to regulate and issue all real estate licenses in the State of Oklahoma, OREC encompasses four divisions: administration, licensing, education, and investigations. Overseeing approximately 22,000 active licensees annually with roughly 600 license renewals processed monthly, a robust, cloud-based platform was long overdue.  

An outdated manual license renewal process in desperate need of an overhaul

Before implementing Thentia Cloud, OREC defined its process of issuing and renewing licenses as a never-ending data tailspin fraught with time consuming manual tasks. According to Crotty, OREC’s small-but-nimble team of staff had grown accustomed to spending countless hours on cumbersome and laborious work.

With no automations, data extraction capabilities, or integrations with external systems, the old way OREC operated its process was nothing short of clunky and outdated. This meant the organization had to manually update licensee records for every update or change. 

OREC’s processes involved managing paper applications and documents, chasing payments, dealing with mail delays, and manually sending out renewal notices on a case-by-case basis, among many other tedious functions. Crotty acknowledges that because of the absence of a standardized process or the ability to automate tasks, issuing and renewing licenses could take days or even weeks to complete. Also, OREC’s licensees are required to renew their license every three years based on their initial licensure date, which left the staff stuck in a never-ending renewal period and in desperate need of a better, more efficient solution.